(Photo by Ben Thrasher)
Inside Line Promotions – QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. (Nov. 30, 2018) – Joshua Shipley pulled double duty last weekend during the Copper Classic at Arizona Speedway, where he ran with both the ASCS Southwest Region in the Mark Clark owned No. 7 Speed Sports car and with the San Tan Ford Desert Sprint Cars in his own non-wing car.
“I was pretty excited about it as it’s been a couple of years since I’ve run double duty,” Shipley said. “Before this year it was always a mini sprint and a sprint car.”
With major differences in driving styles between the winged sprint and the non-winged sprint car, Shipley had to make sure that his hot lap sessions helped him get the feel of the cars for the competitive nights ahead.
“On Friday night in the non-wing, we started sixth in our heat race and finished fourth,” he said. “That started us 10th in the feature and we moved up a good bit to finish fourth. To run in the top four with guys who run that series every week gave me a confidence boost for the next night.”
In the winged car, Shipley qualified 23rd quickest before he started and finished fifth in a heat race. He had to run the B Main, in which he started seventh and made it up to fifth. That transferred him into the A Main and he finished 13th after starting in the 17th position.
“Saturday night, I started last (seventh) in my heat race for the non-wing car and finished second,” he said. “That put us in the top-six dash. We started fifth and finished fourth and that’s how we lined up. When the race started everyone went to the bottom, but I took the top. I took the lead twice throughout the race and my brother and I had a heck of a battle for the lead. The car just went away the last couple laps and I finished fourth.”
His night in the winged car wasn’t as fun. Unfortunately, the team had to end their night during the heat race because of a mechanical problem.
“I’ve had a lot of fun this year and running for Mark Clark was a blast,” Shipley said. “I have to give a shout out to my crew last weekend. They were so helpful and on top of their game. I couldn’t have done it without them. I’m looking forward to seeing what next year will bring.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Nov. 23 – Arizona Speedway in Queen Creek, Ariz. (non-wing) – Heat race: 4 (6); Feature: 4 (10).
Nov. 23 – Arizona Speedway in Queen Creek, Ariz. (winged) – Qualifying: 23; Heat race: 5 (5); Feature: 13 (17).
Nov. 24 – Arizona Speedway in Queen Creek, Ariz. (non-wing) – Heat race: 2 (7); Dash: 4 (5); Feature: 4 (4).
Nov. 24 – Arizona Speedway in Queen Creek, Ariz. (winged) – Qualifying: 23; Heat race: DNF (6); B Main: DNS (-).
SEASON STATS –
16 races, 0 wins, 9 top fives, 14 top 10s, 16 top 15s, 16 top 20s
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.ShipleyRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShipleyRacing
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Joshua-Shipley-Racing-151739011703080
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Speed Sports
Speed Sports is a high-performance, custom engine, service and maintenance automotive shop located in Gilbert, Ariz. For more information, visit http://www.SpeedSportsAZ.com.
“Mark Clark has been so good to me,” Shipley said. “I can’t thank him enough for helping me out and sticking with me.”
Shipley would also like to thank Aero Armour Aircraft Cleaning and Detailing Products, Christie Grading & Paving, Hendrickson Construction, Kid to Kid and The Race Shack for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.